Incredible SW Scenery!!

Jim02U

Jim02U

Pre-Flight
Joined
Apr 23, 2011
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47
Location
Tucson, AZ
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Display name:
Jim02U
On Thursday March 9th, I flew from Tucson to Canyon de Chelly and on up to Monument Valley, where I landed at Gouldings Lodge private airstrip for lunch. From there I flew to Mexican Hat over the Combs and headed west over the Goosenecks and Lake Powell to Page, where I stayed overnight. Friday morning I flew over Marble Canyon and the Zuni VFR Corridor of the Grand Canyon. On the way home I flew past 12K+' Humphreys Peak and the Arizona Snowbowl Ski area just north of Flagstaff and continued SE past Phoenix to KAVQ near Tucson, where I'm based. KPGA Page, AZ is a great place to overnight. Classic FBO is great and will drive you to your hotel and pick you up if you want. Many restaurants to choose from on the main drag.

Photos here: https://goo.gl/photos/LcyYEr4h1zMHmC1T9
Click on the first photo for full screen and move through them with your arrow keys or launch a slideshow. Captions are best viewed by clicking the white info circle top right. My wingcam is a Sony HDR-AZ1. I shot 10s timelapse stills at 11.9mp, controlled via wifi from a phone app.

If you get a chance to fly in this area, by all means do it!!
Jim
 
Great photos, looks like a nice trip!
 
Wow, you can see the curvature of the earth!

How high up WERE you???




(yes, I'm aware this is a fish-eye lens...)
 
deonb said:
Wow, you can see the curvature of the earth!

How high up WERE you???




(yes, I'm aware this is a fish-eye lens...)
Click to expand...
The terrain in that area is 5000'+ so I was flying between 7500' and 8000' most of the time, since many of these places are protected wilderness areas, requiring 2000' AGL minimum. Marble Canyon is part of the Grand Canyon special use airspace, with a minimum 7999' altitude, so I was 8500' in the beginning, slow climbing to 10,500', the required altitude for South bound in the Zuni Point VFR corridor of the Grand Canyon. The lens has a 120 degree FOV, so that causes a little fisheye, but not as bad as the 170 degree FOV action cameras.
 
Nice!... We have a fly-in in those areas every year, with our 10th anniversary coming up this October. I can't imagine a more visually stunning area to visit by air.
The fly-in is sponsored by the CTFlier forum, and we welcome all, especially Light Sport. We've had everything from Cirrus, to tail draggers, and even a Marchetti. The event is loosely structured, so you can come and just take advantage of our super-low hotel rates, and do your own thing. Bryce, Zion, Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Monument Valley, Marble Canyon, Escalante, and more...
MORE INFO HERE At the risk of jinxing things, I'll say it anyway.... October weax is traditionally perfect for flying this area.
pics of last year: https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/community/threads/2016-page-fly-in-recap.98857/
 
Last edited:
Jim02U said:
On Thursday March 9th, I flew from Tucson to Canyon de Chelly and on up to Monument Valley, where I landed at Gouldings Lodge private airstrip for lunch. From there I flew to Mexican Hat over the Combs and headed west over the Goosenecks and Lake Powell to Page, where I stayed overnight. Friday morning I flew over Marble Canyon and the Zuni VFR Corridor of the Grand Canyon. On the way home I flew past 12K+' Humphreys Peak and the Arizona Snowbowl Ski area just north of Flagstaff and continued SE past Phoenix to KAVQ near Tucson, where I'm based. KPGA Page, AZ is a great place to overnight. Classic FBO is great and will drive you to your hotel and pick you up if you want. Many restaurants to choose from on the main drag.

Photos here: https://goo.gl/photos/LcyYEr4h1zMHmC1T9
Click on the first photo for full screen and move through them with your arrow keys or launch a slideshow. Captions are best viewed by clicking the white info circle top right. My wingcam is a Sony HDR-AZ1. I shot 10s timelapse stills at 11.9mp, controlled via wifi from a phone app.

If you get a chance to fly in this area, by all means do it!!
Jim
Click to expand...
Those pictures are awesome.
 
Thanks to all who posted. I'm glad you enjoyed the photos. It was only a day and a half trip, but very memorable. I've flown these areas many times and never get tired of the natural beauty.
 
CT4ME said:
Nice!... We have a fly-in in those areas every year, with our 10th anniversary coming up this October. I can't imagine a more visually stunning area to visit by air.
The fly-in is sponsored by the CTFlier forum, and we welcome all, especially Light Sport. We've had everything from Cirrus, to tail draggers, and even a Marchetti. The event is loosely structured, so you can come and just take advantage of our super-low hotel rates, and do your own thing. Bryce, Zion, Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Monument Valley, Marble Canyon, Escalante, and more...
MORE INFO HERE At the risk of jinxing things, I'll say it anyway.... October weax is traditionally perfect for flying this area.
pics of last year: https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/community/threads/2016-page-fly-in-recap.98857/
Click to expand...

Hotels in Page are low priced this time of year. I stayed at BestWestern Plus for $54 (around $60 w/taxes, including a nice buffet breakfast. That works for me without a group rate. I saw 2 good weather days and went for it. Group events are planned well in advance and you get whatever the weather happens to be.
 
I love flying into Monument Valley for lunch
 
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